Compared to other online games, Phoenix has a modest and close knit community. As a consequence, establishing a reputation as a solid player is paramount. It matters little that you are not willing to commit to running an extraordinary amount of positions providing that you can be relied upon and more importantly trusted. This article is geared towards you the player getting what you want out of the game. It is in nobody's interest for you to end up playing somebody else's game, getting bored and quitting.

So, how to go about this?

Let's presume that you are new to the game or are just returning after a hiatus of years. In the case of the latter you may recognise a few people from their Nexus ID's, but where veteran players have adopted their alter-ego as their ID this may not even be possible. So your first task is to announce yourself. A simple 'hi' in the recruitment forum is perfect.

Here is an excellent example:

Quote:

Hi Guys

I have just arrived in phoenix after finding the game by accident, I used to play in the US BSE well over 10 years ago and looking forward to dusting off my captains hat and trying again.

I will be spending a few weeks as TRN to do the starting missions as phoenix seems alot more complicated than BSE.

Whats the current state of affiliations like player wise, who has the most and who desperately needs new blood.

You could well get inundated with replies, many asking you to join them. My advice is to hold back from joining anyone just yet. It is definitely handy to keep your options open to begin with but be honest with them. Think of it like this - should you join them and you do not like what you have joined, you may feel guilty that you have wasted their time. In the past players have 'gone silent' because of this and simply stopped playing. On the other hand, joining an affiliation and leaving them within weeks, often after they have invested time in you can cause bad feelings especially if you 'defect' to one of their enemies. So, best policy is to work as a free agent until you understand the game better.

Being a free agent however does not mean that you cannot work with established affiliations. You have the ability to use flags of convenience. These allow your ships to be run as Free Lancers, Privateers, Mercs and Pirates. You can come to some sort of arrangement with affiliations to do things for them. This way it gives you chance to determine who you get on with before committing to an affiliation. It also gives you chance to determine your own direction in the game.

Speaking for the Affiliation on Open Forums

For an affiliation there is nothing worse than some newb spouting off about affiliation politics and potentially starting a war. For the smaller affiliations this can be disastrous. They are somewhat cagey about new players and as such it is best to discuss limits with the affiliation leadership before joining an affiliation.If you like talking in-character and for example goading another affiliation about its political stance, you need to be in an affiliation where the leadership is not going explode whenever they see your name in the in-character forums.

Affiliation Expectations

As well as forum conduct it is also important to discuss expectations by both sides for affiliates. Find out what they will do for you and what they want in return. For some affiliations it is little more than friendly banter on their private boards while each member does his or her own thing. For others you may be expected to run at least a certain number of positions, or behave in a certain manner i.e. no firing in certain locations, no harassing specified affiliations, no entering certain regions of space. Make sure you know before you join whether these limits will in any way interfere with your game. If the affiliation will stop you playing the game you want, then don't join them!

Moving On

So, presuming that you have now ran through the various training missions and have acquired a few ships (having read the story - Diary of a Pirate, you may well have a few more ships to boot). You may well have even done a few tasks for established affiliations such as having a look round Corewards or selling them the unique trade goods you have liberated from the Halo Free Lancers. Finally you are thinking that it is time to get serious. The best thing you can do is create a political. First off you protect any stellars you have built up. That's right, until this point each of your ships have only their own wealth and should you lose a ship, you lose all the stellars on it. With a political you now have a central account. Even if you lose you last ship, you still have your stellars! I am sure that you have also discovered that starting a political gives you extra ships and a further 100,000 stellars. Just by having a political means that you are now a serious player.

Respect

If by this point you are in the market for also taking on a starbase so that you can enjoy all aspects of the game, from research and production through to merchandising and shipbuilding, it is worth approaching affiliations if you are not already a member of one. If you have followed the above advice, you should be on friendly terms with one or more people. While you still have the option to go it alone, joining an affiliation and taking on one of their 'spare' starbases is likely an option.

The benefits of taking on existing assets is first and foremost that the work of construction has already been started and that there is likely to be support in the way of outposts already in place. The downside is that you did not have the fun of achieving this yourself. There is also another danger - the affiliation 'off-loads' a starbase onto you. Your initial pleasure at getting a starbase quickly pales as you discover there is little for you to do beyond peruse a weekly report. Do not offer to run a starbase without first discussing the ambitions for it. If there isn't a lot of fun to be gained by expanding the base, dealing with the surrounding star systems and accepting either the level of threat (in frontier locations) or the desiring the obscurity/peace (in safe/secret systems) then this really isn't the starbase for you.

Again, I stress the need to chat to your affiliation. If the starbase is not what you wanted, ask if you can swap it for another. Quite often an affiliation will have quite a few bases that are being controlled by a nucleus of players such that it is easy for them to accommodate your wishes. Affiliations would rather you have the assets best suited for you than for you to quit.

Play where you want to Play

Discuss with your affiliation your ambitions. This can be anything that piques your interest. You may want to wander round the Inner Empire stirring up trouble for one faction or another or explore Corewards. You may want to run privateers or simply do a lot of trading. The important thing is that you do just that and do not allow yourself to be dictated to by leadership. If they are stopping you from joining in on their battles, ignoring you or taking you for granted then tell them so. This is as much your game as it is theirs. If they do not respond positively, change your situation. Leave them and join another faction. Often the sin of the leadership is simply one of omission and benign neglect. If you are not talking to them, they think that you are simply doing your stuff and enjoying yourself.

News

Is open for business...

***** Inter Galactic News *****

*** Wimbles Crisis Solved ***

The Wimble Crisis of 217 has come to an end with the human Baron making way to the wimble Grandfather Paden Mastaak. Celebrations were held in Wimbledon upon the news with crack teams of Wimble security staff guarding all the pies.

It’s unclear how long the Wimbles will enjoy this new era of peace and self-determination.

Vocal Wimble Dinasha, one of Paden’s early backers, has chosen this precarious moment to bait Dewiek, Flagritz and humans who were initially disposed to be friendly to the new administration. Whilst the Wimbles' history with the former-slave-loving Flagritz could be understood, their animosity towards the Dewiek and humans was more mysterious. One insider alluded to a rise in the number of cases of foot-and-mouth across the herd as being a likely cause.

Inside this issue of the SSS: * Storm in a Teacup *** Yahn Bares All * &etc

The stargates are closed! Reports from multiple sources indicate at least three of the stargates, all within Dewiek controlled systems, have been closed.

Two different sources have indicated that the TCA have been spotted recently in a number of systems and may be behind this turn of events. A scan sent to the SSS indicated eight TCA ships were recently spotted first in the Faery system and later near the Kasmer stargate.

Another source, suspiciously put the blame on the ARC, suggesting the ARC and DEN were working together because they “need to trap [the TCA] and try and finish them off after the DEN bodged their operation to protect the ARC while they incinerated the MEK homeworld, which ended up with several ARC ships being destroyed and the job only being half done."

However, with no public statement from the Dewiek themselves, its hard to know whether these rumours are reliable.

Lord Igor of the Dominion and Erasmus Andersen of the Garcia Family both offered public apologies at the delay in meeting their trade commitments because of the recent closures. The not-so-subtle subtext being that someone will pay with blood for this interference in their business. Or at least with a stealthy price rise.

Inside this issue of the SSS: * Wimble Civil Strife * Who Sniffs the Sniffers? * Largin’ It * &etc

The Flagritz Empire is no more! The Flagritz Republic is reborn! Quick on the heel of the collapse of the Empire, the Fessin caste declared a new era of foreign and economic policy with a rapid withdrawal behind the Black Gate.

The new ecologically-friendly Prime Minister Kayxaer, asked for patience as “economic” reforms were undertaken. It remains to be seen whether there will be any price to pay for the dramatic changes being made by the reclusive Flagritzi or whether it will all be sunshine and rainbows going forward.

Naplian Forces have attacked three human pirate outposts in the Morroglyph system. A spokesperson for Naplia HQ told the press that the plucky duct-tape loving free people would continue their war against slavers and pirates in their home periphery.

One salty Naplian libertarian told the SSS, “The people of the Naplian Home Periphery are sick and tired of human criminals coming here just because their homeworld is an overcrowded hell. It’s time for them to go back home.”

In good news for all the galaxy the Flagritzi have vowed to liberate all slaves across their Empire. Furthermore, the hectapods have given up eating other sentient species; taking up a strict diet of veganism and soy chai lattes. Sales of turtle neck sweaters and Forbidden Fruit laptops have skyrocketed.

The news was cautiously welcomed by the benevolent Felini Tyranny who looked forward to reducing the War phase of their daily Nap-Lick-Nap-War-Nap-Eat-Sleep cycle to a perfunctory forty winks.

Inside this issue of the SSS: * Baron Womble * A Short History of the DPP * &etc

A massive fleet of some 1600 warships, including large numbers of super-heavy capital 300 and 400 hullers, attacked the DEN in the Solo system, catching them with their metaphorical pants down. The DEN gate platform and some two hundred DEN freighters were subject to antimatter missiles amongst other high tech ordinance.

Jack the lad, Viceroy of the Empire, claimed a victory for freedom and the Imperial (right of) way leaving the sullen Dewiek unusually unresponsive.

With DOM platforms firing on CIA ships, will the IMP now demand the DOM add them to the Do Not Fire lists as well? And what exactly is the nature of the DOM and DEN alliance in light of the sustained attack from the Empire? And will the DEN’s alien friends stand idly by as the Empire fleet camps in the vital gate system of Solo? How will the DEN retaliate for this action or are they ready to roll over and have their bellies rubbed?

All this remains unknown. All that is certain is the “feel good” factor across the DTR has increased, with citizens reassured that for some time yet, they may continue in their slumber with the easy assurance that their number is not coming up anytime soon.

Dewiek forces had a hefty smackdown against the mysterious living ships known as the T’Cath (TCA). Seven adult TCA 400 hull capital ships, each firing eight of their notorious plasma cannons, were killed by a DEN and DOM fleet of some 700 ships.

Of the minimal losses suffered by the DEN / DOM, one-eyed Magnus and Nevets Motnhap of the FEL were amongst the dead.

Listen…There’s no sound of anger or of annoyance, There’re neither cruisers racing on the jump lanesNor there jump lanes for them to race on, There’re neither monks chanting on the battlegroundsNor bells calling us to the True One.There’s neither the lightning cracking of the skyNor the persistent Naplians pattering on my roof.There’s no Dewiek arm in arm to admire the magnificent viewThere’re no war drums to feed Human earsNor Hive sirens to steal the boredom awayThere’s no unfamiliar wing creeping underneath the Falconian sunNor floods to enshroud the Aquaphid groundsThe land lies lonely out hereOn this lazy summer’s dayThere’s no pollution to poison the airs of InversionNor forests to give them lifeAll I hear is the hushing sound of the windAssisting the sand to fall into beautiful undulations.

The Imperials have cunningly saved the Falconian Republic from being consumed by the Dewiek Elder Nation and at no small cost to the DEN either. Whilst the new pro tem Consul crowed about the “victory”, all former FCN systems besides Acropolis have been taken over by the two warring Empires - Human and Flagritz.

Was it all worth it? For the IMP / GTT it clearly was, for the movement of a few hundred thousand troops is surely nothing to the cost they endured trying to and failing to knock the DEN out of Solo after the fact. The FCN now plucked off most of their navy and wider assets are a tiny nothing of their former self. The DEN may have resorted to some dirty namecalling but can the costs endured to save an enfeebled FCN have really been worth it? Time will tell.

I’ve played on and off for approximately 10 years, over a 20 year spell. After some interesting debate on the in-game forum, I did wonder what, exactly, has kept drawing me back to the game, when for so many others I’ve generally lost interest after a few months.

Ultimately, I think it is a combination of automation (that allows the game to handle thousands of positions to interact on a daily basis) coupled with Special Actions (that allow the story arc to develop in a way that could not be catered for by a set of predefined list of available orders).
-Zigic